The Experiment
by Talo12Books
Summary: Kim Possible's conflicts with super villains attract a lone Yautja. It becomes a deadly game of cat-and-mouse as the hunter closes in. Things become complicated when the OWLF unit, headed by an ex-PMC, try to contain the situation from becoming another Gunnison incident. To make it worse, an inquisitive scientist's experiment has gotten out of control and threatens all of Colorado.
1. Relevant Timeline

**The Experiment**

**Relevant Timeline**

Circa 3.2 billion BC

Milky Way Galaxy: One Engineer sacrifices himself to seed Earth with the building blocks of life.

2996 BC

Earth: The Yautja (pronounced: e-wat-ya) arrive on Earth. They teach humans to build pyramids, and are worshipped as gods. An ancient civilization located in a huge cavern beneath the volcanic Bouvet Island grows to the height of its power.

October 10, 2896 BC

Earth: The Yautja return to Earth and begin a hunting ritual. Within which several humans sacrifice themselves as hosts for Xenomorph aliens so that the Yautja may hunt them as a rite of passage. This ritual continues every one hundred years, on the 10th of October. (The Yautja activate their self-destruct mechanisms if overwhelmed by the Xenomorphs, which causes the destruction of some early human civilizations)

2000 BC

Northern Cambodia: A Yautja hunting expedition goes awry when the Xenomorphs multiply out of control. The Yautja eradicate all traces of the infestation.

1300 AD

Brodilovo, Bulgaria: Saint George witnesses a ball of fire fall from the sky. From the ball arises a dragon (actually a Yautja), which he faces.

1325 AD

China: Li Yat Sen, a charlatan, liar, and thief is beaten and expelled from his village and is the sole witness to the crash of a mostly intact Yautja ship, in the mountains.

1700-1709 AD

Japan: Shogun Tokugaway Tsunayoshi and his forces face sudden attack by a group of Yautja, ending in a final duel between one Yautja and a blind swordsman, chosen by Shinto monks. The monks make a prophecy that the duel will continue in the future where the swordsman, in some form, will have to face the Yautja again in another duel.

1718 AD

Guinea Coast, Africa: Pirate Captain Raphael Adolini must fight his mutinous crew and is aided by a Yautja referred to as "the Golden Angel." At the end of the encounter, the captain gifts the Yautja with his flintlock pistol, with the engraving: "Raphael Adolini 1715".

1863 AD

Ozark Mountains, America: A group of Union and Confederate soldiers band together to fight a Yautja drawn to Earth by the American Civil War.

1881 AD

Bengal, India: A Yautja hunts villagers and British troops, including Edward Soames, in Bengal, India, giving rise to the local legend of a Rakshasa, or Hindu demon, stalking the area.

1896 AD

London, England: The same Yautja hunts in London, England, giving rise to the legend of the murderer Spring-Heeled Jack. It is faced again by Captain Edward Soames, who is employed by the secret order of the mysterious Diogenes Club, lead by Mycroft Holmes.

October 10, 1904 AD

Bouvetoya, Antarctica: Xenomorphs and Yautjas wipe out the inhabitants of a whaling camp on Bouvetoya in the South Atlantic Ocean.

August, 1914 AD

France (World War I): The Yautja are attracted to the massacres and battles in the war at various locations.

June 18, 1916 AD

Verdun, France: Jean Brunaud and his squad witness a Yautja in battle at the trenches near Verdun. The helmet of the fallen Yautja is eventually passed down by mysterious people to CIA lawyer Griggs Irving in 1992.

1919 AD

Two Witch Mesa, Cibola County, New Mexico: A Yautja ship lands in the area. A Yautja attacks during a skirmish between Enoch Nakai's great grandfather and the Navajo men of his community against white oilmen who have laid claim to an ancient Navajo burial site. Afterward a man from the Indian Agency arrives and questions Nakai's great-grandfather. One of the victim's wives gives Nakai's great-grandfather a prong from a Yautja weapon, which his grandfather passes on to Enoch in 1994.

1926 AD

Florida Everglades: A Yautja hunts an escaped convict from the Big Cypress Penitentiary and the three prison guards sent after him.

1930 AD

New Way City, USA: A Yautja stalks mob boss Bruno Borgia. Bruno's wife Isabella shoots the Yautja in the eye, causing his blood to splatter on her and her baby son Hunter. The now one-eyed Yautja makes a hasty escape, leaving behind some of his equipment. Failing to kill himself, shamed by defeat and having exposed his race to the humans, the Yautja, now known as Scarface, is exiled by his clan to a planet inhabited by deadly alien creatures.

1931 AD

Bayou Lafourche, Louisiana: A Yautja mistaken for the legendary local Gollywomp hunts three musk rat trappers in the bayou. His artifacts remain with a trapper.

August 16-20, 1936 AD

Nghasa, Kildeer Station, Serengeti, Africa: A Yautja hunts railway workers. Mistaken for a killer lion, he must then face a human hunter and local game wardens sent in to deal with it. Gives rise to the legend of the Dudu Ya Porini.

1939-1945 AD

Llanganati Mountains, Ecuador, South America: During World War II, a Nazi commandant and his team encounter a Yautja during their quest for Incan gold.

August 6, 1945 AD

Hiroshima, Japan: Atomic bombs are dropped on Hiroshima, Japan. According to later US government records, the heat and conflict attract Yautja.

Summer, 1947 AD

Upper East Side, Manhattan, NY: A Yautja hunts mobsters during a turf war between the gangs of mob bosses Tony Vincenzo and Bernie Jinks, and a crime reporter named Max who is covering the story. O.S.S. type military intelligence officers think it's related to aliens and try to cover up the incident for national security reasons.

1958 AD

Fleener Creek, Oregon: A Yautja hunts a hunter and his son, Buddy Wilcox, in the woods near the town, seriously affecting young Buddy.

1959 AD

Hollywood, CA: A Yautja lands for a hunt in Hollywood. He attacks the offices of American National Pictures and then the Atomic Drive-In where the premier of a gimmicky new sci-fi film in 4-D is taking place.

1968 AD

Vietnam: A Yautja hunts during the Vietnam Conflict and the South Vietnamese officer from the famous footage of the execution of a North Vietnamese prisoner is later accused of committing a bloody massacre which was actually a Yautja attack.

1984 AD

Nicaragua: A Yautja attacks and decimates a Contra-training camp headed by US Special Forces Officer Faulkner.

1987 AD

Val Verde, Central America: A Yautja lands in Val Verde, Central America and hunts a U.S. Special Forces unit assigned by Major General Homer Phillips, led by Major Alan "Dutch" Schaefer and guided by local rebel Anna Gonsalves.

1988 AD

Middleton, CO: Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable are born.

Summer, 1988 AD

Fleener Creek, OR: During record heat in the region not experienced since 1958, a Yautja returns to the area after 30 years and faces convicted murderer James McCutcheon, local townspeople, local sheriff Kelly Mathis, and Buddy Wilcox, who faced it 30 years earlier. The incident is at least in part covered up in the national media by FBI Bureau director Timothy Gray.

Summer, 1989 AD

New York City, NY: In the midst of a heat wave and a drug war, Yautjas fight Dutch Schaefer's brother Detective Schaefer, his partner, Detective Rasche, street gangs, the police and the army. The military officer in charge of the operations dealing with the Yautjas is Major General Philips from the Val Verde incident.

Val Verde, Central America: Detective Schaefer fights another Yautja in Val Verde.

1990 AD

Yamal Peninsula, Siberia, Russia: About five months after the events in New York, a Yautja ship crashes near an oil refinery station in Siberia. Major General Phillips sends an undercover US military team led by himself and Detective Schaefer to recover it. A Russian team is also sent to do the same. The teams face each other and the Yautja.

Summer, 1990 AD

Lexington, KY: The ex-South Vietnamese officer who witnessed and was blamed for a Yautja attack in 1968 is secretly killed for his knowledge by unknown CIA agents in Lexington, KY. Where he had since relocated and worked as a horse trainer.

August 11, 1990 AD

Chicago, IL: A Yautja hunts rival gang leaders Enrique Cerezo and Estaban Rojas Herrera in Chicago's South Side. The vigilante/mercenary Cross, who is working to end the gang war, unknowingly crosses paths with the Yautja. The incident is investigated by US intelligence agents R.B. Goode and K.J. Wallace, who are perhaps members of the Task Force assigned to investigate the Yautja, lead by Agent "Blondie" (who may be Commander Claude Loudermilk or Special Agent Peter J. Keyes).

October 1, 1990 AD

Mumbai, India: Peter Weyland is born in to an Oxford-educated Professor of Comparative Mythology and a self-taught engineer.

Summer, 1991 AD

Cibola County, New Mexico: A Yautja, referred to by local Navajo Indians as an Adilgashi, attacks Cole Army Base, and terrorizes the town of Agate and the surrounding area. The creature is faced by Army Corporal Enoch Nakai and a military unit led by Colonel Trench and his second in command, Major Amblin. The forces at Cole are led by Colonel Athelry and Sergeant Coates who, along with a military scientist, briefly get to study the Yautja's ship. Nakai faces the beast in the volcanic region called El Malpais.

1992 AD

Nicaragua: A Yautja interrupts a US military team, under DEA agent Marty Dworkin, trying to capture a dictator in Nicaragua. CIA agent Joe Bob Cantrell faces the creature. He is found with the bodies of the drug-runners strung-up and blamed for it by the army.

Virginia: Cantrell gets a secret trial and accuses the army of knowing the truth and trying to cover it up. CIA lawyer Griggs Irving takes Cantrell's case. Cantrell's story reminds him of the case of the South Vietnamese officer accused of the same thing in 1968. He investigates. A mysterious source leaves him a package with the journal of Jean Brunaud from WWI, detailing his encounters and stories of the Yautja.

1992 AD

Tokyo/Nikko, Japan: A Yautja attacks a street gang and a Tokyo dojo while hunting blind martial arts sensei and inventor, Juta Tanaka. Tanaka faces the Yautja in a duel near Nikko, Japan, fulfilling the prophecy of Shinto monks 300 years earlier. Inspector Mitsugi of the Tokyo Police investigates the incidents and calls in the army. General Miyamoto Kataro, a former student of Tanaka's, aids him during the incident.

August, 1992 AD

Tucson, Arizona: A government Task Force made up of special agents, brought in under false pretenses based on their unknowing interaction with Yautjas, hunts the Canyon Killer (aka Yautjas). The team is lead by an agent called "Blondie" and scientist named Wanda, who are the only ones who know the truth about the assignment.

Paloverde State Penitentiary, Arizona: A Yautja hunts murderer Mark Anthony Towers, who has confessed to the Canyon Killings, erroneously taking credit for all of the unsolved Yautja killings.

Chicago, IL: The Task Force recruits a vigilante mercenary named Cross to help capture the Yautja.

Paloverde State Penitentiary, Arizona: The Task Force sends Cross in to organize the prisoners the Yautja is hunting and capture it. Under Cross' leadership, the inmates battle the Yautja.

Summer, 1993 AD

New Jersey Pine Barrens, New Jersey: A psychopathic Yautja (known as a Bad Blood), on the run from Yautja law enforcers, crashes his ship near the New Jersey national park, and attacks a nearby paintball range and other locals. The creature is sought by a huge CIA Task Force assigned to hunt the Yautja led by commanding Agent Claude Loudermilk and his second in command Agent Garvin. It is also hunted by a fellow-Yautja law enforcer from space. A group of four AWOL CIA agents led by "Poppa" John Pulnick and including Mandy Graves faces the beast and the team lead by Loudermilk, their former superior officer.

April, 1994 AD

Cibola County, New Mexico: Enoch Nakai, now working as a gas station attendant after his Yautja-related incident, talks to his grandfather. He shares a story and evidence that Enoch's great-grandfather also witnessed a Yautja attack 75 years earlier. Nakai is offered a job working for the government tracking the Yautja by a mysterious, blonde, mustached agent calling himself John Smith (possibly is Peter J. Keyes or "Blondie").

August 10-October, 1996 AD

Val Verde, South America: A crazed Yautja runs rampant in the area where Dutch Schaefer faced the Yautja in 1987 and his brother fought one in 1989. Two military units and an expensive military robot are sent in after it. Then Detective Schaefer is coerced by General Homer Phillips back into the country to face it. The President of the country, known as El Presidente, says his people have known of and faced the beasts for centuries.

1997 AD

Colonel Alexander Woods submits his final report regarding an unexplained nuclear explosion off Bouvetoya in 1979, and those believed responsible. The results are inconclusive. His daughter Alexa Woods begins working on 'The Ice' (Arctic/Antarctic environments.)

Off the Southern Coast of Chile: A Yautja ship lands in the ocean, several miles from one of the archipelagos that make up the South Chilean Coast. He was attracted by a volcanic rift that has caused unnaturally warm waters, and opened up a fissure into undersea crevices with new creatures to hunt. An unnamed secret "Organization", headed by "The Directors", with a past history of dealings with the Yautja, assigns one of its top agents, Captain Rafe Cromartie of Special Operations, and his team to investigate and/or capture an alien or its technology. The Chilean authorities grant the organization a two-day window of opportunity, before sending in the Chilean Navy, the U.S. Military, the CIA, and others who will probably follow. One of the teams receives top secret deep cover emergency training based on the organization's cumulative knowledge of the aliens. The creature faces Cromartie's team, including Cromartie, special agent Maria Theresa O'Higgins Pavez, Agents Brahm and Matteson and one of the new unknown life-forms from the fissure that it had been hunting.

Mount Rainer: Later in the year, Alexa Woods and her father climb Mount Rainer. Following complications from a broken leg, Colonel Woods dies during the descent.

Summer, 1997 AD

Los Angeles, CA: A Yautja lands in Los Angeles and begins hunting gang members involved in a drug war and a team of policemen led by Lieutenant Michael Harrigan. The Yautja is itself also hunted by a clandestine government military team known as the OWLF (Other World Life Form) unit, lead by Special Agent Peter Keyes and his second in command Agent Garber. The unit has detailed information about the Yautja and records of the Val Verde incident. Harrigan is gifted with Raphael Adolini's flintlock pistol by an elder Yautja, presumably the "Golden Angel" Adolini fought with. Agent Garber becomes head of the OWLF unit.

May, 1998 AD

Nevada Desert: Billionaire Tyler Stern, who has created a Yautja-specific biosphere in the middle of the Nevada Desert, traps a one-armed Yautja within it. Corporal Faulkner is employed as security. Stern and his staff face the creature.

1999 AD

Yellowstone National Park: Naturalist Maya Bergstrom, ex-combat photographer George Maxwell, and a nameless government agent encounter three Bad Blood Yautjas on a rampage, who are in turn hunted by an age-old Yautja sent to stop them. Bergstrom uncovers evidence regarding the true reason Yautjas have come to Earth so often and the origins of the species' involvement with Earth.

Fall, 2003 AD

Ron Stoppable and Kim Possible begin attending Middleton High School.

October 1, 2004 AD

Days after his 14th birthday, Peter Weyland is granted a Method Patent for a synthetic trachea constructed entirely of synthetically-engineered stem cells. It is his 12th registered patent to date.

Sunday, October 3, 2004 AD

Bouvet Island, Antarctica: A Yautja ship nears Earth, initiating a heat bloom beneath Bouvet Island, near Antarctica, which is detected by satellites belonging to Weyland Industries. Specifically, Weyland Industries satellite P12 picks up a heat bloom over Antarctica and the icebreaker Piper Maru is dispatched to investigate. Maxwell Stafford starts combing the globe looking for various experts for the expedition.

October 8, 2004 AD

Nepal: Maxwell Stafford meets Alexa "Lex" Woods in Nepal asking for her assistance aboard the Piper Maru. Late that day, Stafford meets with Professor Sebastian De Rosa and his assistant Thomas in Teotihuacan to recruit them for the Piper Maru expedition.

Sunday, October 10, 2004 AD

Bouvet Island, Antarctica: A Weyland Industries team led by company head Charles Bishop Weyland, and including Alexa Woods, discovers a pyramid beneath Bouvet Island, where they are caught in a battle between the Yautja and Xenomorph.

Thursday, October 14, 2004 AD

Gunnison, Colorado: A Predalien crashes aboard a Yautja ship outside of Gunnison, Colorado. Several facehuggers and the Predalien escape, invading the town and creating more Xenomorphs. A lone Yautja arrives and fights the Xenomorphs in a battle with a group of local people caught in the middle. The United States government gets involved with the attempt to contain the situation in an extreme way. A recovered Yautja Plasma Cannon is delivered to a woman identified as "Ms. Yutani".

Summer, 2005 AD

This is where our story begins. Kim and Ron have just passed sophomore year and are on summer vacation. The OWLF unit, no longer led by Agent Garber, has reports of strange activity in Middleton and has been relocated for investigation. Their priority is to contain and quell any and all activity relating Yautja. They have also learned of a new species based on rumors of the Antarctica and Gunnison incidents. The unit's armour has been upgraded to have more resistance against weapons such as the Plasma Caster (the armour was almost no protection during the 1997 incident). The OWLF unit is led by Braidy Thomson, an ex-PMC. Unknown to the unit and Team Possible, they will have to contend with more than just a few crazed villains.

A lone Yautja has made his way to Earth. He has heard stories of how the weak species has overcome many an Elite. He now wishes to taste victory against these creatures. He did not want any ooman (human) as a trophy, he wanted their best. What the lone Hunter did not know was that their best warrior was a teenage girl.

What no one knew was that there was a lot more to it than what they all knew. This was about to be the most memorable experiences of their lives.


	2. Chapter 1

**The Experiment**

**Chapter 1**

Day 1

_First Audio Log:_

Doctor Terrence Hamilton (Middleton Medical Center, research division): _"This is Doctor Terrence Hamilton of the research division of the Middleton Medical Center. Today we have what appears to be [slight pause] a sample of some tissue on an unknown origin. It was found near, what was formerly, Gunnison, Colorado. [Tools on the table are adjusted] The sample has some properties of a human [clears throat] but for the most part consists of unknown chemical compounds and genetic properties. The tissue appears to be skin. This theory is back up by the fact that it has the leathery properties of the human skin. Though, the contradiction to the tissue being human is that the skin tone is more of a yellow green than tan. And the texture consists more with a lizard's hide than a human's skin. My hypothesis is that what it derived from was human, but with a reptilian mutation. I will now look at the genetic and chemical makeup of the sample."_

_Second Audio Log:_

Doctor Terrence Hamilton: _"This is truly incredible! The chemical makeup contains elements that don't even exist on Earth! [Papers get shuffled] Listen to this-"_

Doctor Alan Chase: _"We're going out for a beer. Are you coming?"_

Doctor Terrence Hamilton:_ "[to Doctor Chase] Of course. Give me a minute. [To tape recorder] Well, duty calls. I'll write down everything I was going to say on this paper, and I will record it at a later date. [Pencil writing on paper] This is truly historic. I will record the rest of this incredible discovery first thing tomorrow"_

Day 3

_Sixth Audio Log:_

Doctor Terrence Hamilton: _"It appears my previous assumption was wrong. The creature this came from is not human at all. This means that the rumors are true. There were aliens in Gunnison, Colorado. We are not alone in this universe anymore. If these creatures are sentient, then that would mean that they may have played a great part in history. It would explain the similarities in cultures of the ancient world. Like how the pyramids that are found across the world yet the civilizations that built them would have had no way to travel the long distances within ample time. Oh, and if Alan Chase is listening to this, mind your own fucking business._

Day 7

_Twelfth Audio Log:_

Doctor Terrence Hamilton: _"For the past few days, I have done some research into this. See audio logs seven through eleven. One more thing stood out to me. All of the gods in the ancient religions seem to come from the stars. This enhances my theory in Audio Log Eight. This means that we may be their third world and they probably as a child society and tried to raise us, humans, to a high society; whether for fun or because they were looking for another intelligent species for whatever reason. But it seems that the more we matured as a species, the more we began to refute their beliefs, and eventually driving them off of our planet. For more research, I will be going to various pyramids in Central America. I will see what all I can learn. So, I will not be available for the next few months. I [rest of audio log corrupted]"_

**Middleton, CO**

**OWLF unit combat status: inactive**

While investigating reports of strange activity in the area, the OWLF unit has seemingly integrated into the society of the population of the area. Though Middleton was the main focus point of the Tri-City area, Upperton and Lowerton were also under close watch. The downtown areas were the primary focus, as there was more likely to be a target there. Aside from containing any alien related incidents, the unit was not above being hired by big name corporations for whatever purpose, usually sabotage. The corporations paid well for the job. The payout was usually within the hundred thousand mark. One company paid greater than the others, the Yutani Corporation. They paid in the millions. Usually the job was to retrieve some technology a disgruntled and greedy employee had stolen to sell to rival companies. And Ms. Yutani herself usually instructed to ensure that the one responsible is unable to steal from her again. Ms. Yutani usually gives a bonus if a video filmed of the one responsible begging for his life before he takes a bullet to the head, execution style.

If people found this out, the Yutani Corporation would be put out of business for sure, and warrant for the arrests of Ms. Yutani and all high ranking employees, along with the OWLF unit for committing the murders, would be issued. The manhunt would cause mass hysteria. It would cause more harm than good. Those wise enough to stay below the radar would be safe for a time. They would be found eventually. No one can hide forever. When it gets out of hand, Weyland Industries will step up and succeed where the Yutani Corporation failed. Weyland Industries is on the rise. At just over fourteen, Peter Weyland has just received a patent for a synthetic trachea. That makes twelve patents. The boy is a genius. No doubt the Yutani Corporation will try to apprehend the technology. When the legal way fails, more unconventional methods will be used to attain it. All that really can be said is, welcome to the shady underside of business.

**Agent Braidy Thomson**

**Current Alias: John Smith**

**Combat Status: Incognito**

**Middleton Employment Status: Unemployed**

**Relationship Status (as current alias): Single**

**Current Location: Bueno Nacho #582**

**Time: 2000 hours**

I sat in a booth at the Mexican themed fast food chain. I held a Weyland Industries touch screen tablet upright on the table. I had just finished hacking into the database. The last entry was the tenth of October of last year. I opened the file. It showed a pyramid under Bouvet Island in Antarctica. The temple was of an ancient design. It had markings of ancient writings, Egyptian, Aztec, and Cambodian, at the least. The pyramid was older than most ancient civilizations, perhaps, older than all civilizations. According to the file, a Mr. Charles Bishop Weyland had led an expedition to the island. But that is as far as the files goes.

A couple booths down from me, two teenagers, a male and female, spoke about various things, including a Dr. Drakken. As I always say, well have heard people say, too many cartoons corrupt the brain. The way they spoke about him and his partner, someone named Shego, they have definitely been watching too many Saturday morning cartoons. They were interesting to listen to. They had many rants about various things. Mostly school-related issues and some cartoonish super villain, though they have said nothing that helps with my investigation, so far.

I turned off the tablet and stared out the window. Day had turned into dusk. The falling sun hit the horizon. The sun was hidden behind the buildings, but rays were cast in the sky, over the buildings. In a weird sort of way it looked beautiful. It seemed to make the city look serene. I had not realized that I had rested my head on my hand and my elbow on the table. Out there, somewhere, something was about to take a turn for the worse for someone. And I was just there, chasing after some stupid aliens. I wondered if the others had more luck than me.

As I stared out the window, the door opened. Out of the corner of my eyes I saw a young, light brown skinned girl walk in. She had black hair, brown eyes, and oversized, pink earrings. She looked to be the same age as the two teenagers I had been listening on. The girl got food and then sat down at the table with them. I wasn't really paying attention to the conversation. But I did hear one of the two call the girl Monique. I began to listen to their conversation.

"Hey, who is that?" Monique said. The three teenagers, the man with the strangely large glasses behind the counter, and I were the only ones in the restaurant. So, I knew she was talking about me, and so did the other two.

"I don't know, he has been here since we got here, at the least," the other girl said.

"I don't think we have seen him in here before," the guy said. I figured they were becoming suspicious of me. I was ready to make a hasty exit. I was sure they were about to get up. The door opened again. A young woman, in her mid-twenties, walked in. She had black hair, blue eyes, and an almost pale complexion. She walked to the counter and ordered two trays of food. She walked over to my booth and set a tray of food in front of me. This was Sheryl Victorson, one of the two medics in the unit.

"You need to eat," she said. I spoke to her earlier today on how the investigation was going for her, and somehow I having not eaten today came up. I ignored her and continued to look out the window until she abandoned her attempt at getting me to eat. She sat across from me. I wondered what she wanted since we had already spoken about what we needed to today.

"What are you thinking?" she asked. To anyone else, it seemed like a simple question with a simple answer. Most people would probably reply, "Nothing." But among our unit, small talk was very rare. So, either what she is stalling on tell me is either bad or will make for an awkward conversation. I decided my answer needed to be something that would answer the question quickly. But being that I can't resist a good conversation, I might make this last awhile.

"Why?" I replied. She opened her mouth to say something but hesitated. A confused look formed on her face.

"Why what?" she asked.

"Why, out of all of the planets in the universe, choose this one?" I countered. She had an expression on her face that said, "Not this again."

"I don't know, luck of the draw, I guess," she said. I adjusted the position I was sitting in so that I face Sheryl with my forearms resting on the table.

"It's more than that," I explained, "I hacked into to Weyland Industries' files. The last one was of an expedition to a pyramid under Bouvet Island in Antarctica. The strange thing is that the pyramid, based on various facts, is older than any recorded civilization." Sheryl was silent for a moment, taking in the information.

"You hacked into Weyland Industries?" she finally asked.

"Yes, it wasn't that hard," I replied, "But you are missing the point."

"The point being, what exactly?"

"This rewrites the history books on ancient civilizations." She chuckled.

"I liked you better when you were thickheaded, not open-minded." I glared at her.

"Very fucking funny. The evidence is just too paramount to deny." She did not take me seriously. Then again, who would? I sound like that doctor who is taking a trip to many Central American pyramids just to prove that they were connected. It took him about a week to go from scientist to enthusiast. I had barely realized, but the teens had taken an interest in our conversation.

"Shouldn't you be at the hospital cutting some poor bastard open?" I asked.

"I finished for today," she replied, "You need to eat something today." Here we go again. Out of the corner of my eye, I barely noticed a, what appeared to be, a meteor go through the sky and land outside of Middleton. This could be what I was waiting for.

"I need to go," I said, swiftly standing. I grabbed the tablet.

"You aren't getting out of this that easily," Sheryl said.

"It'll have to wait," I said. I jogged towards the door. I pulled out a burner phone I got. I dialed the numbers of the unit.

"I think I found something," I said. I gave the unit coordinates to meet at. They were by the meteorite.

"Damn it," Sheryl said with a sigh. She hates when people ignore what she says, especially when it comes to medical advice. I rushed out the door of the Bueno Nacho. I believe I found the break in the investigation I was looking for. Hopefully this would not go sideways on me like Afghanistan.


	3. Chapter 2

**The Experiment**

**Chapter 2**

**Unknown Signature**

**Current Alias: N/A**

**Combat Status: Hunting**

**Middleton Employment Status: Not Native to Middleton**

**Relationship Status (as current alias): N/A**

**Current Location: In the Caribbean **

**Time: 2100 hours**

As extensively as I have studied the oomans, this was unusual, even for them. I approached the large building located on the mountain. There were a few trees but not enough to use for cover. I jumped effortlessly from ledge to ledge. Now on the roof, I looked around. All in sight was water. Though there were some islands that seem to be in the distance. Some of the smoke from my damaged ship started to blend with the fog. I wandered the roof deciding on how I should enter. Most of the roof was a deep blue color. A short distance in front of me was a large, light blue column. This indicated that heat from inside probably escaped from there. The infrared vision, as the oomans call it, was useless to me on the cool roof. I switched vision type in my bio-mask to one that the clan has dubbed as "Ooman Vision". Being that it let us see the color spectrum that the oomans see. The roof was a dull gray color. I approach the column to find it was hollow.

I jumped through. I dropped a good distance before hitting a metal grate, tearing it from the ceiling of the building. I landed hard on the floor. Though, the thud could not be heard over the clang of the grating hitting the floor. An ooman will most likely be along to investigate soon. They would not see me though, as my active camouflage was engaged. Though, I did not wish to wait around to see who comes. I was in a hallway with two clear directions. I approached one end of the hallway. There were stairs leading upwards. I followed them. It led to a door which opened automatically when I approached it. It must detect movement. I entered the room. The door automatically closed behind me.

In the room were several tables with equipment on them. There was also a large machine with electricity coming from it. There was, what looked to be, a small indoor river. On the other side of the room, was a large screen, some kind of table with buttons and levers beneath it, and a large chair across from the screen. It was primitive technology at best. There were two oomans in the room. For a better view, I jumped on top of the large electricity producing machine. I used my mask to zoom in on the oomans. One was speaking while pacing back and forth. This one was obviously male. He wore a large blue coat and blue pants with black boots on. The other sat in the chair, reading a small book, though almost too thin to be a book, disrespecting the one who was speaking. This one wore a green and black jumpsuit. At first I was unsure of the gender, but upon a closer examination this one has, what the oomans call, breasts. They are the same defining feature as Lou-dte Kalei of my species. The only explanation as to why they are alone in the same room is that they are mating.

Though, upon a full scan of them, their genetics are inferior. The one speaking has blue skin, definitely not a common trait among oomans. This suggests that the blue one has some sort of disorder. The blue one also is in poor physical shape. He is definitely not worthy of mating. The green-outfitted one, on the other hand, is in peak physical condition for an ooman Lou-dte Kalei. She was in perfect condition for mating. Though, the green-outfitted one's heat signature is greater than any ooman. This was strange, as there was nothing in the scan that could indicate that. Perhaps it was a glitch from the crash.

These two are not even worth the hunt. It would be too easy. Removing the blue one would be a service, as to purify the species of his tainted bloodline. But this hero he speaks of, the one the blue one calls Kim Possible, must be a great sain'ja as his rambling suggest. I had decided. I will hunt the one called Kim Possible. I figured the best chance I had to catch my prey was to have them come to me. These two would lure the sain'ja here. Once here, I would face the sain'ja and give him an honorable death by battle. This is if the ic'jits that shot me down haven't killed the sain'ja first.

**Agent Braidy Thomson**

**Current Alias: John Smith**

**Combat Status: Incognito**

**Middleton Employment Status: Unemployed**

**Relationship Status (as current alias): Single**

**Current Location: Crash site outside of Middleton**

**Time: 2130 hours**

Now at the crash site, sporting our white, Yutani Corporation licensed full body armor and helmet with mask, OWLF unit one had been the first to arrive and sealed off the area so that only registered officials were allowed to come near the crash site. The air had an brown-orange tint to it due to the sun setting and the dirt in the air from the torn up earth from the crash and Yutani Corporation registered vehicles that came down to the site. The units that arrived had mixed together, and were running around doing various tasks. Most of them were armed with the M4A1 Carbine. The others were armed with the Heckler and Koch G36C. All of the weapons had AN/PVS-14s. Several Armored SUVs made up the perimeter. Along with police tape that read, "Do Not Enter" and multiple agents. There was a storage semi backed up to the crater waiting for the cargo. Several forklifts were in the crater, ready to lift the cargo. Workmen sporting construction gear prepared everything for moving the cargo.

The crater had appeared empty when the units arrived, and to the uninformed. But if you had been involved in any incidents with the, as they came to be known as, Predators, you would know about their active camouflage. They had it to hide themselves, so why not have it for their ships.

Based on this hunch, I ordered one of my men, hard to keep track of who with three of the five units stationed in Middleton at the crash site, to throw a bucket of water at the center of the crater in order to disrupt the camouflage. And it worked. The ship became visible. The ship was different than the one reported by Lieutenant Michael Harrigan in 1997. This one was much smaller. And it was empty. It most likely only housed one of the Predators. It was not a clean design either. It seemed to have various internal mechanisms exposed. It also looked to be rusting away. Judging by human standards, the Predator that flew it was an outcast. Rejected by whatever type of society these aliens had.

This does not mean it seeks refuge amongst the humans. No, it is probably the opposite. Kill anything it can find, before whatever the aliens have for law enforcement exact justice upon it. Ms. Yutani will pay well if we bring this creature to her, alive. I walked the perimeter of the crater.

"This is Agent Braidy Thomson, so listen up," I said into the microphone built into the helmet. The speakers were an earpiece in our left ear.

"There was a Predator in that ship and it is roaming around Middleton right now. It is a safe bet that it is hostile. All units need to be on constant alert. Unit One, we are going to beat this bastard at its own game. We are going to be the predators. So when we finish here, go home and get some rest. You will need it for tomorrow," I continued. As I walked past the semi, something was off. I could not tell for sure what it was.

But it was the same feeling I got back in Afghanistan shortly before my team was ambush and slaughtered. I was the lone survivor. My leg was torn to shreds by an IED one of my men had the unfortunate accident of activating. I had passed out from shock. When I came to, I was on a helicopter leaving Afghanistan. I should have died there, should have.

That is when I met Ms. Yutani. I was the perfect candidate for her experimental Synthetics program. Basically, she needed a guinea pig, and officially I was KIA, killed in action. Her program was not what it is now. This was still a very early stage. At first I thought she had wanted me for security detail. But, as she pointed out, I was unfit for that. I was missing half a leg for god's sake. But then she asked me the most important question of my life. She asked, _"Do you want your leg back?"_ Of course I said yes. At this point I had been out for over half a month, at the least. In the long run, I was almost like a son to her, to some extent. I was her first and greatest accomplishment. As far as I could tell, for experimentation, I was housed in an underground facility somewhere in Japan.

When we arrived they began immediately stripping away all of the skin and flesh starting below my knee, the damaged portion of me. I lay outstretched on a surgical table. There were multiple surgeons in the room. Each of them performed the same task, tearing away my damaged flesh. As they tore the flesh from the bone, in strips, it made sickening popping and tearing noises. I was given a minimal anesthetic. It only dulled the pain as so I would not pass out from it. I could smell the burnt flesh mixed with the iron smell of the blood that poured from the severed veins.

One of the surgeons grabbed an apparatus from the side table. It looked like a mess of white tubing. It was bundled to reflect the muscles of the lower leg and foot. They put it on over the skeleton of my lower leg. I then felt a burning sensation as the tubing was attached to the open wound where they had started tearing my damaged flesh away. I could feel it being shoved into the wound. Then they began to solder the tubing to my flesh. I screamed in pain. I had to be held down by most of the doctors to prevent me from trying to sit up and claw at my leg to try and remove the apparatus. I had worn myself out. I was breathing heavily, and I casually looked down at my leg. A viscous, crimson fluid began to fill the tubing. They had created artificial blood flow within the apparatus. I thought to myself. If that was the first step, then the next step must be; I paused for a second, the nerves. I was right.

I snapped out of the trance that the memories had put me in. Though it had only been for a second or two, it felt like hours, even days. I knew the first place to look, under the truck. I got on my knees and craned my head around to get a better look of the underbelly of the truck. There was a small device, about the size of the palm of my hand, stuck to the underside of the truck. I pulled the device off. It looked like a homemade GPS. Which meant someone was probably planning to follow us. I clenched my fist, completely obliterating the device. I few seconds later, I heard a rhythmic beeping. The pattern was one of one, two and three. Almost like a ringtone. The source was coming from somewhere beyond the truck. I walked past the truck to see two people facing away from me. One was a female, the other a male. I began to silently walk up behind them.

"I just lost the signal for the tracking device. So be careful, someone might be, uh oh," the kid on the screen said, seeing me stand behind the two, now clearly identifiable, teenagers.

"Uh oh is right," I said, making my presence known. The teenagers practically jumped out of their skins upon hearing me behind them. They swiftly turned around to see me standing right behind them and the girl put what looked to be a portable video phone away. They took a couple steps back to give themselves some room. I opened my still clenched hand, letting the debris from the GPS fall to the ground. I wiped my hands together, getting rid of any debris left behind. The girl had gotten into a fighting stance. The boy just stood there, freaked out.

"KP, I don't think we should mess with this guy, he's almost twice my size," the boy said, staring wide-eyed at me. Honestly, I wasn't that big. I'm six and a half feet tall. And I weigh two hundred and twenty pounds, in muscle. But otherwise, I'm not that big.

"Ron, I've taken down people much bigger than him," she said semi casually. The boy looked at the girl and then back to me.

"Good point. If you need me, I'll be standing back here. Cheering you on," the boy said taking several steps backward.

"You're in trouble," I said right before the girl came at me with a flying kick. I put my arm out and caught her foot in my hand. Then I pushed forward with the hand grabbing the girl's foot and let go. She went back a little ways before landing on her feet. Ms. Yutani did more than give me my leg back.

"Do that again and I will shoot you," I said raising my M4A1 and pointing it at her face. She relaxed out of her fighting stance. She did not want to take the chance of me actually pulling the trigger. I slowly lowered my weapon. I looked at both of them.

"What are you two doing here? This area is off limits," I asked. There was a moment of silence.

"We're, uhm, lost," the boy said nervously, then whispered, "C'mon KP, let's just go." He tugged at the girl's arm, yet she did not budge. A, what appeared to be, naked mole rat came out of one of the boy's pockets and mimicked him.

"You're a terrible liar," I replied, "Since I'm feeling generous today, I will escort you out of here. And I won't report you to my boss. But you must never come back here. Or meddle in affairs that are not yours to meddle in. Understand?" I looked directly into the girl's eyes. She did not want to back down. She wanted to find out what this was about.

"Alright, we'll go," she said. This was too easy. She had something planned. I was going to keep a close watch on her. They compliantly walked towards the perimeter. There was no talking during the walk. When we arrived at the perimeter, I arranged for some of the agents to take the two back to their place.

"I have arranged for a transport to take you home. Remember, do not mention anything you saw here to anyone. If you do, you will be putting them in danger," I said. The SUV pulled up and the door opened, ready to transport the two. I could tell from the girl's look that she saw the OWLF agents as the enemy.

"We will find out what is going on," she said.

"That is some bold talk," I said; I leaned close to her face, "I'd like to see you try." She gave me a vicious glare, before getting in the SUV. Her friend was already in the SUV. She was trying to act tough. I could tell that she isn't used to being beaten this easily. I doubt she felt intimidated by me, probably just pissed that she was beaten. I could have told her about the situation. I knew she would be back. Because that's the way she was. I knew who she was. And I knew she would not give up. She closed the SUV door. I walked up to it and put my arm on it, and leaned in towards the window.

"Just remember, we're the good guys, Ms. Possible," I said before rapping on the roof of the SUV to signal for them to get going. The girl had a half surprised look on her face. Obviously people knew who she was, she was famous. But I guess she did not expect me to know, based on the way I had treated her. As the SUV drove off, Sheryl walked up. She was dressed in the same unisex armor and helmet as me; bar a red cross on her shoulder indicating that she was a medic.

"Who were they?" she asked. She glanced at the SUV that was headed away from here, before turning to me. I continued to stare at the SUV.

"Our bait to catch the Predator," I said. None of us were ready for what was to come ahead. There was no protocol, no specialized training apart from Spec Ops training. Many people would die before this is over.

**Translations:**

**Ooman: Human**

**Lou-dte Kalei: "Child Maker" (slang for female)**

**Sain'ja: Warrior**

**Ic'jit: Bad Blood (rogue Yautja)**

**Any reference pictures/links will be on my profile.**


	4. Chapter 3

**The Experiment**

**Chapter 3**

**One week after the crash**

**Agent Braidy Thomson**

**Current Alias: John Smith**

**Combat Status: Incognito**

**Middleton Employment Status: Unemployed**

**Relationship Status (as current alias): Single**

**Current Location: Middleton Mall (food court)**

**Time: 1100 hours**

I approached a table. A man in a suit sat at the table. This was one of Ms. Yutani's correspondents. He would speak in Ms. Yutani's place if she was absent. She will only send correspondents if the situation is important. Otherwise, envelopes are left where they will be found by the intended receiver. As I walked towards the table, I looked around, noting my exits if I were to need a quick escape. I sat down at the table.

"Are you sure we are secure here?" I asked.

"Better than most places," he replied.

"You do know that the annoying teen hero, Kim Possible, frequents here, right?" I asked.

"Of course," he replied.

So, what is so important that Miss Yutani sent you here?" I asked with a sigh. He began to write notes down. I had learned what letters the markings formed. The correspondent noted my physical signs of insomnia. He also noted that I appeared slightly malnourished. I pushed that from my mind. Eating was the last thing I wanted to be thinking about.

"Miss Yutani will be visiting briefly tomorrow. When she is here, she wishes to speak to you alone. There is an envelope waiting for you at home. It contains all of the details and instructions. Open it after you have had dinner. Follow the instructions to the letter, beginning immediately. You will also go to the Middleton Medical Center. In the lobby, in the reception area, there will be three folders, take them," the correspondent explained.

"Wait, Miss Yutani is come here?" I asked in surprise.

"Yes," he replied. We stood from the table at the same time and walked in opposite directions. I headed for the exit. The correspondent blended in with the crowd, effectively disappearing, unable to be tracked. I hurried out of the mall. There was work to be done.

**Location: Middleton Medical Center**

**Time: 1200 hours**

I calmly walked into the lobby of the Middleton Medical Center, and stood in the back. I observed the people in the lobby. They were all there for various reasons. I noted a doctor that walked through the lobby. This one seemed oddly familiar. I could not place it. I took another good look at her. She looked to be in her early forties, at the most. She had shoulder length, red hair, and blue eyes. Then I seemed put the picture together. She looked somewhat like that annoying teen hero, Kim Possible. I tried to ignore the fact that I should have been able to recognize the resemblance immediately.

I saw that there were three folders on the reception desk. I walked over to them, past the red-haired doctor. I would look into her later. I grabbed the folders and turned to leave. I froze when I saw Sheryl walk into the lobby. I hoped she would not see me. I did not want to have to explain what I was doing here. She walked past me and began to talk to the red-haired doctor. I calmly walked towards the door. Once I was outside, I took a deep breath. I would have hated dealing with Sheryl, being in my current condition, according to Ms. Yutani's correspondent.

I walked to the car issued to me by the Yutani Corporation. Well, it is registered under the Yutani Corporation, but I paid for it. The car of choice, that would not attract attention, was the Chevrolet Camaro. Ms. Yutani thought that it was an audacious choice, but there are quite a few people with them in Middleton.

I entered the car and put the folders on the passenger's seat. I wanted to know what was in files. I knew I was not supposed to look, but my curiosity overwhelmed me. I pulled out of the parking lot and headed to a nearly abandoned highway, just outside of town. I knew I would get in trouble with Ms. Yutani if I looked before I was instructed to. I had to insure I would not get caught. I travelled down the highway until I was just outside of the city limits. The highway went out and curved northward around the city. When I decided that I was far enough out of the city, I turned right onto a small, dirt access road. A few hundred yards down the dirt road, I turned left. I drove for another couple hundred yards and stopped. I turned the engine off.

I observed my surroundings to ensure I was alone. I was in a small patch of desert. This was uncommon for Colorado. I decided it was probably created as a park at some point. On the right side of the car, about four feet away, was, what appeared to be, a dried-up river. It looked to be three or four feet deep, like a shallow canal. There were almost no signs of any type of animal life. There were no trees in the area, only low brush. All were a variety of desert grasses and shrubs. Most were dried up.

I grabbed the folder on the top of the stack in the passenger's seat. There were no markings on the folder whatsoever. The folders could contain anything. I knew all of the contents of the folders would be out of context. I opened the folder. All of the contents were held in place by a paper clip at the top of the folder. The first item was a picture of a girl. She was a brunette and had blue eyes. She looked to be about sixteen, maybe seventeen. Her face seemed oddly familiar, but I could not place it. This was odd as I usually have a knack for memorizing faces. I turned to the next document.

It was a medical record. I began to wonder if she was my next target. But everything was too complete for that. I then saw the name on the folder, Courtney Thomson. I started to get a clear picture in my head. The girl sort of resembled me. This was strange as I did not have any relatives named Courtney. I glanced through the other documents with haste. There various items, such as a birth certificate, records of previous schools with grades for each year, hobbies, even clothing preferences, a list called "Items Required to Get", and other various things. It was almost like setting up an alias. I hoped that it was not an alias that would require me to dress like a young woman. I closed the folder and set it on top of the others in the passenger's seat. I would view them later, when I had more context. I prepared to start the engine again when I heard what sounded like a semi truck approaching from the left.

I looked in time to see a semi speeding through the terrain towards my car. There was no way I could get out of the way in time.

"Fuck," I said calmly before the truck hit the side of my car. The impact caused me to ragdoll towards the passenger's seat with only the seatbelt stopping me. The car was sent towards the ditch, nearly flipping over. When the car went over the side of the ditch, it flipped and rolled down the side of the ditch. When the car hit the bottom of the ditch, I blacked out from the force of the impact.

**Nobody (following Kim Possible)**

**Location: Bueno Nacho #582**

**Time: 1200 hours**

The teen hero, Kim Possible, and her sidekick and best friend, Ron Stoppable, had sat down to lunch at the local Mexican-themed, fast food restaurant, Bueno Nacho. They mostly discussed the upcoming school year. They were to be juniors. They had passed the halfway point of high school. They began to look to the road ahead, as their years at Middleton High School would soon come to an end. As they talked, the Kimmunicator, the personal digital assistant (PDA) with two-way live streaming capability, beeped the rhythmic beat of getting contacted by her friend and tech-savvy friend. Kim answered the call.

"What up, Wade?" she asked. The young nerd appeared on the screen.

"I completed the search for that company, the Yutani Corporation. It has assets in multiple fields of work. They seem to mostly be in varying technological advancement businesses though. They seemed to only be rivaled by a company called Weyland Industries. Get this, the CEO of Weyland Industries, Charles Bishop Weyland, went missing last year after a 'business' trip to Antarctica. In fact no one who went on that trip returned," the boy explained.

"Freaky," Ron said.

"Definitely freaky," Kim agreed.

"The Yutani Corporation is located in Tokyo, Japan. I tried hacking into their systems, but I was unable to get in," Wade continued, "Whoever these people are, they have the best security I have ever seen."

"I'll look into it Wade," Kim replied.

"Oh, and one more thing," Wade said, stopping Kim from putting away the Kimmunicator.

"What is it Wade?" she asked.

"I have arranged a meeting with one of the employees who is in Middleton on business. He has agreed to meet you in the food court of the mall in one hour. Be careful, whoever those guys were at that crash site a week ago have some serious firepower and military training. I'll let you know when I find out more," Wade said with a wary tone.

"Thanks Wade," Kim said before turning off the device and putting it in her pocket.

"We need to figure out what is happening here. Something doesn't feel right," Kim said to Ron.

"You saw how fast that one guy moved. It was crazy," Ron replied, "Maybe we should wait to talk to this guy at the mall until we know more."

"He is our best bet of knowing more about whatever is happening. And it will give Wade some more time to see what else he can find out," Kim said. Kim had a feeling that whatever was happening was not good. She needed to figure out what was happening and stop it before people started to get hurt.

"I have a really bad feeling about this one KP. It's not like anything we have dealt with before," Ron said.

"I know Ron. But whatever this is, it won't end well. We need to do what we can to try to keep this from getting out of hand," Kim explained.

"You know I have your back KP. I just want to be more careful on this one," Ron replied. Unbeknownst to the two teens, they were being observed. A figure watched the two from the rooftops across the street. It watched the teens exit the restaurant and head towards the mall. The figure moved from rooftop to rooftop with ease. It knew that the time to strike was nigh. But it knew that it had to wait. There was an unnoticeable ripple of the air as it moved. The prey would soon fall to his blade.


	5. Chapter 4

**The Experiment**

**Chapter 4**

**Six hours later**

**Nobody (following Ms. Yutani)**

**Current Location: [Classified], Middleton**

**Time: 1800 hours**

Ms. Yutani had arrived a day earlier than she was expected. This was to ensure that everything had been arranged properly for tomorrow. There could be no flaws otherwise the whole mission would be in jeopardy. Ms. Yutani kept a calm face as she received the news that one of her agents, Agent Braidy Thomson, had gone missing. She did not send a search party after him, for she knew that if he was still alive, he would show up eventually. She had received her correspondent's report from their meeting. She knew that he current health status was due to the experiments he was put through. She knew that he knew this. She had told him that this would most likely happen. But Ms. Yutani knew that his loyalties would always lie with her, for, without her, he had nothing, nowhere to go.

Ms. Yutani shifted in her seat so she was facing the window of the place she was staying. She stared out of the window. She was deep in thought. She wondered just how human Agent Thomson was anymore. She had made several 'modifications' to Agent Thomson. Most of them were to ensure that they worked properly before she got the patent for them, not Weyland Industries. Was it a mostly selfish pursuit? The answer lies in what your parameters of selfish are. She knew that Agent Thomson would not die that easily. He was just out there, lost.

**Agent Braidy Thomson**

**Current Alias: John Smith**

**Combat Status: Incognito/Injured**

**Middleton Employment Status: Unemployed**

**Relationship Status (as current alias): Single**

**Current Location: Outside of Middleton**

**Time: 1600 hours**

My senses began to return to me one at a time. First, I began to feel the heat from the car. I could then feel the blood rushing to my head. At that moment, I knew that I was at least upside-down. I could then feel my body engulfed in a searing pain. But in my left thigh, there was a sharp, piercing pain, which stung worse than the other pain. My sense of smell began to return. Inhaling, all I could smell was the potent odor of burnt flesh. My sight slowly returned. As it did, I was greeted by orange and yellow flames engulfing the car, licking up the sides of it. I slowly turned my head, looking around. The car had been flipped upside-down. The rear seat windows were smashed, allowing the flame easy entrance to the interior of the car.

As I went to undo the seatbelt that firmly held me in place, I noticed that my body was covered in cuts, most of which held broken glass that protruded from the wounds. My knife had managed to sheath itself in-between two of my lower ribs. I could feel the blade scraping the inside of my lung as I inhaled and exhaled. I reached for the blade. Upon grabbing it, a shiver went up my arm. With this, I became aware that my left hand and arm were broken in several places. I proceeded to remove the knife from my ribs. This caused a small spray of blood due to the knife having sealed the wound for awhile. I then let the knife fall to the roof of the overturned car. My blood was a slightly light crimson, barely noticeable compared to other's blood. Perhaps, my eyes hadn't fully adjusted yet. I moved to undo my seatbelt. I fell to the roof of the car as it retracted, hitting the back of my head on the roof. I sat up the best I could and shook my head to try to help dissipate the fuzziness I got from hitting it. I began to cough from inhaling smoke from the fire.

All sounds seemed to be dampened, and there was a loud ringing in my ears, my hearing had not returned much, yet. I looked for the best way out. I decided that the way out without getting burned the most was through the passenger's side window, which has remained unbroken bar a few cracks. I saw the folders lying on the roof of the car. I grabbed them and put them under my shirt to try to protect them from fire damage. I then moved over to the passenger's side and put my right foot against the window. I then kicked as hard as I could, cracking the window. I kicked it again, the crack enlarged. The glass had become brittle from the fire, allowing it to crack easier. I kicked once more, shattering the glass and sending a fireball up my leg. I screamed as I felt the fire travel up my leg, torching it. Then, with my leg still on fire, I dove through the broken window as fast as I could to avoid as much fire damage to my body as I could. A lot of the hairs on my body, mostly on my arms, become singed, severely shortening them. When I was outside of the ring of fire, I began to roll on the ground to put the fire on my leg out, along with preventing any of my smoldering clothes from becoming lit with flames. When I stopped rolling, I pulled out the folders from under my shirt and set them on the ground. They were unharmed minus a few discolored spots from the fire. In shock from what just happened, I laid on the ground, staring up at the blue sky. I had just cheated death for the second time in my career. But it was still a long walk back to the city, and it was getting late. I could not call anyone as my phone was in the torched car. I might not have cheated him after all.

**Agent Korey Jernigan**

**Current Alias: Edward Jones**

**Combat Status: Incognito**

**Middleton Employment Status: Unemployed**

**Relationship Status (as current alias): Single**

**Current Location: Middleton Park**

**Time: 1700 hours**

I sat alone on a bench in the park. It was, what one would consider, a beautiful day. There was not a cloud in the sky. The sun, though preparing to set, was shining brightly. The grass was a vibrant green. Birds were singing their hearts out. Various people walked through the park, smiles upon their faces. Though it did not seem like it, today was a bad day. Whenever someone says it is a good day, it is not for someone. For example, today is a good day, but with the United States having invaded Iraq a short time ago, it is a bad day for the soldiers over in the Middle East fighting for President Bush's fear mongering. It should have been a simple PMC op, but after the incident in Afghanistan, the rules of the PMCs were being rewritten. Today was a bad day, for I killed another man. I may have been on orders from my higher ups, but his blood was on my hands. The knowledge of why they hired me to kill the head of OWLF Unit One is beyond my pay grade. All I know is that his charred corpse will be found in a ditch outside of the city by tomorrow.

I could still see his crumpled corpse, strapped upside down to his car seat, knife between his ribs, in that destroyed sports car. I knew that my bosses wanted me to cut his body to shreds, but, after almost five and a half hours, I could not bring myself to do it. I decided instead to light the car on fire, and say that it caught fire due to the crash. As I took some of the diesel from the semi I used and began to pour a ring around the car, I could have sworn I saw his body twitch. The thought that he might still be alive made me cringe. No one could have survived that crash. As I continued to prepare to burn the car, I lied to myself to keep my guilty conscious, of killing a good man, away. This is good, he got a quick death. If this did not happen, at the rate he was deteriorating, he would slowly die of starvation. I continued to lie to myself, and when that became ineffective, I started humming tunes to various, upbeat songs. I now questioned everything I stood for. I had just killed a man to make some quick money. I lit a match from a matchbook in the semi. I took a deep breath, and threw it on the ring diesel. I went up quickly, spreading around the car. I watched the flame rise. I felt a tear roll down my cheek; I just killed someone and lit their corpse on fire. Someone, who I made an oath to never betray. If he was still alive and makes it out of the fire, he'd hunt me down and kill me, slowly.

Thinking about it made my body begin to shake. It was not noticeable. As a member of the OWLF organization, we learned to never show emotion. A job was a job. And a three million dollar job to kill a man who would die within a few weeks anyways was worth it. I noticed a newspaper lying on the ground next to the bench. I picked it up and examined the article on the front page. The title read, "North Korean Army gathered on island in Pacific". I could not help but wonder why the KPA would gather on some remote island that they have had no connections to in the past. As much as I wanted to know what they were doing there, a reconnaissance team was already sent in. When they return, I will be able to find out. I looked up and could have sworn I saw a figure moving along the rooftops. It was probably nothing, but with a Predator running through the city, anything could happen.

**Nobody (following Agent Sheryl Victorson)**

**Location: Sheryl's House**

**Time: 1800 Hours**

Sheryl Victorson paced back and forth in her house, waiting impatiently for the door bell to ring. She wore a knee length black dress. Sheryl stood at five foot six inches, relatively short compared to the other members of the unit. Her black hair was shoulder length, as to be just within regulations for the OWLF Organization. She was not allowed to have piercings of any kind. Even her clothing was regulated. The only reason she was dressed up was because Ms. Yutani sent her a letter. She was supposed to get cleaned up as if going to a fancy restaurant, and wear the dress that was left on her kitchen table for her. The letter told her to wait and at five pm she would be picked up. Sheryl followed the orders, but had now been waiting over an hour for the one who was supposed to pick her up. She gnawed on her bottom lip.

"Of course he wouldn't show up. Probably felt he had better things to do," she muttered to herself. She would rather be out hunting the Predator instead of standing around waiting for the one who was supposed to show up. But orders were orders. Eventually, Sheryl became tired of pacing across her kitchen, and sat down on the couch in her living room. She sighed, realizing that no one was probably going to show up. She felt that it was futile to wait and stood up to change. As she began to walk up the stairs to her bedroom, there was a knock at the door.

"Finally," she said aloud to herself. She walked towards the door. She was going to give him a piece of her mind for being late. She swiftly opened the door, and opened her mouth to tell him that he was late. But she froze, mouth frozen in the movement of forming a word, upon seeing who was standing there. It was Braidy wearing a tuxedo, his mouth agape. Sheryl could tell that he was using makeup to cover up bruising and cuts on his face. Sheryl then closed her mouth, astonished that the one she was waiting for was her squad mate and commanding officer. Braidy followed suit.

"Uhm," he said, pausing for a second, "Sorry I'm late?" Braidy was confused too. He had received two letters, one with an address, and the other with instructions. He had not been given the name of the person he was supposed to pick up. When he arrived and the door opened to reveal Sheryl, he could not help but to look her up and down.

"You…uhm," he said, unable to finish his sentence.

"Let's just get this over with," Sheryl said, walking passed him. Braidy swiftly followed.

"You get in another fight?" she asked.

"What?" Braidy responded, not realizing that she was talking about his face.

"Your face, what happened to it?" she asked. She knew it was a futile effort to try to convince him to stop this strange behaviour he had of late. She figured he would ignore the question, or change the subject.

"It's a long story," Braidy replied. Sheryl was already in Braidy's new Ford Mustang GT by the time he reached it. Sheryl wondered why he got another sports car, it wasn't very discreet. He got into the driver's seat and started the car.

"What happened to your other car?" Sheryl asked, as Braidy drove down the suburb street.

"Overturned and on fire in a ditch outside of town," Braidy answered. Sheryl looked at him, raising an eyebrow.

"It's a long story," Braidy explained.

"I'm sure there will be plenty of time to tell it wherever we are going," she said, "Speaking of which, where are we going?" Braidy repeatedly glanced at her. He thought that she should wear a dress more often. But he was sure the Yutani Corporation would have a problem with that.

"According to the letter I received, we are going to a French-themed restaurant called Chez Couteaux," Braidy said.

"Fun," Sheryl said sarcastically, "And stop looking at me and pay attention to the road."

"Sorry," Braidy said. They both had a feeling that it was going to be a long night. They were both unaware that they were being hunted by the hunters they were hunting. A figure swiftly followed the car, along the rooftops, invisible to the naked eye.

**A/N: The article about the North Koreans is referencing Crytek's game Crysis from EA Games. No, it will not play any part in this story; it is just a little Easter egg for the Crysis fans (including myself, being a part of the series) out there.**


	6. Chapter 5

**The Experiment**

**Chapter 5**

**Braidy Thomson**

**Current Alias: John Smith**

I walked out of the restaurant, Chez Couteaux, with Sheryl in tow. We made our way to my car. We were ready to call it a night. I would drop her off at her place, and then head back to my apartment. We slowly made our way across the large parking lot.

"That was…fun," I said, "We should do it again some time." There was a moment of silence.

"Yeah, that's one loose end to tie up," she said. I had no idea what she was talking about. I stopped and turned around.

"What are you-" I was cut off by a very audible clicking sound of a shell casing being ejected. My stomach felt twisted. I looked down to see blood turn my shirt red. There was a good sized exit wound out the back of my chest. I looked back up at Sheryl. She held a Glock 19 with a Silencerco Osprey 40 silencer on it. I opened my mouth to say something but I could not. Blood started to run from the corners of my mouth. I began to lose my balance, as I kept repositioning my feet to be able to stand. Sheryl just stared at me with cold eyes. I could feel my legs giving out.

"Fuck," I said before falling to the ground face first. The blood running from my chest began to pool on the ground. Sheryl calmly picked up the spent shell casing. She walked over to a trash can in the parking lot, pulled out a cloth, and cleaned the gun before dumping it in the trash can. She then walked back over to where I was and pulled her disposable phone out. She dialed a number and took a deep breath before putting the phone to her ear.

"Hello?" she said in a fake whimper, "There has been a shooting at Chez Couteaux. Please come quick, someone has been shot." She then hung up and tore the phone in half before tossing the pieces in the blood pool. She then got on her hands and knees, and turned her head so the profile of her face was towards the ground. She took a deep breath before smashing it into the ground. Pulling her head up, she had cuts on her face with pieces of asphalt in them. She shook her head vigorously, before smashing her face into the ground again. She lifted her face off the ground, revealing it to be covered in a mixture of blood, asphalt, and dirt. She then sat up. She then poked herself in the eyes, forcing them to tear up to make it appear that she was crying. She then gave me a wicked smile before I blacked out.

**Braidy Thomson**

**Current Alias: John Smith**

**Current Status: Incognito**

**Middleton Employment Status: Unemployed**

**Relationship Status (as current alias): Single**

**Current Location: Chez Couteaux**

**Time: 1825 Hours**

"Hey, are you in there? Hello?" A dampened voice asked. I felt someone poke my forehead.

"That's just great," the voice said, "What were you saying before? Are you brain-dead?" I felt another poke to my forehead. Snapping out of my trance, I blinked. I saw Sheryl leaning over the table preparing to poke my forehead. My hearing fully returned. I then realized that my absentminded eyes made it look like I was staring at her breasts. My eyes darted away before she realized that my eyes were fully focused on her breasts, otherwise I would receive a lecture at how it is impolite to stare at women's breasts. She then slapped me across the cheek. My head lifted and I looked around, realizing where we were.

"I'm still here," I said quickly.

"You were really out of it. Is there something on your mind?" Sheryl asked.

"It's nothing," I responded. I stared into Sheryl's eyes. She had that; "Please tell me what is on your mind, so I can fix you" look on her face. She has a lot of looks.

"Just a hallucination," I said.

"What did you see?" she quickly responded.

"Why are you so interested in my hallucination?" I countered.

"Because you were staring at my breasts pretty intensely," she said. I was surprised that she had taken it so calmly; I thought for sure I was going to get the lecture.

"Sorry. I had spaced out," I said.

"It's okay, you're not the first person to stare at my breasts through the entire dinner," she said, giving a slight smile. I opened my mouth to say something, but quickly shut it realizing how stupid it would be to say that.

"In the hallucination, you shot and killed me," I explained.

"And the last thing you saw before dying was my breasts?" she said, half-jokingly.

"No," I said, "The last thing I saw was your bloodied face, from smashing it into the ground to make the situation look like a mugging gone wrong, wickedly smiling at me." Sheryl raised an eyebrow at this.

"Okay," she said cagily, "Your mind is a disturbing place."

"So I've been told," I said. She chuckled a little. There was then a glaring light coming in from the window. Everything seemed to go in slow motion. The light became a blinding white light. As it dimmed I noticed a strange sight out the window. Everything was whitewashed. Arising from behind the buildings outside was a large fireball. As it rose into the air, a trail of smoke connected it to the ground. A shockwave hit the restaurant blowing out the windows and crumbling portions of the walls. People closest to the wave were flung from their seats. Smoke engulfed the buildings outside. The light became brighter. I looked to Sheryl to see her skin vaporize from her body leaving burnt flesh. That too vaporized under the intense heat. Her flesh was then quickly vaporized, revealing charred bone underneath. I looked down at my hands to see the skin and flesh be vaporized from the bones. Looking up, I watched Sheryl's skeleton disintegrate from the wind from the explosion. Soon my bones disintegrated too.

**Braidy Thomson**

**Current Alias: John Smith**

**Current Status: Incognito**

**Middleton Employment Status: Unemployed**

**Relationship Status (as current alias): Single**

**Current Location: Outside Chez Couteaux**

**Time: 1825 Hours**

There was a knock on the car window.

"Hey, are you coming or are you just going to sit there?" Sheryl asked. I shook my head upon coming out of my trance.

"That was…strange," I said to myself. I looked over to Sheryl motioning for me to hurry up. I opened my door and got out. I closed my door behind me and walked toward the restaurant with Sheryl. After those hallucinations, I couldn't look at her the same way. I had remembered that I didn't lock the doors to my car. I pulled out my keys and pressed the button to lock them. I knew that this was going to be one hell of a night.

As we walked in the door, the host's eyes grew large, knowing who we were. He called a waiter over and instructed him about us. As we approached, they stopped talking and turned to face us.

"Ah, Mr. Thomson and Ms. Victorson, glad you could make it. We were becoming worried that you would not show up," the host said.

"Please, follow me," the waiter said. As we followed him, people stared at the obviously crappy cover-up job for my face. We were seated at a reserved table in the VIP section.

"I don't trust this," I said to Sheryl, noting the hallucinations I had.

"You don't trust anything. Let's just get this over with," she replied. I averted my eyes from her, because looking at her; I could vividly see the charred skeleton in my head. Sheryl said something, but I didn't hear what it was. I snapped out of my trance and looked at her.

"What?" I asked. Sheryl gave a disapproving look.

"I said, 'Are you actually going to eat?' You also need some sleep too. How long has it been since you last slept, two, three days?" Sheryl asked. I did not want to answer, being that the answer is classified. I quickly thought up something to dodge the question, and began to vigorously look around.

"Where is our boss? Isn't she supposed to be here?" I asked, trying not to answer her. A waiter approached us to take our orders and heard the question.

"Unfortunately she will not be attending. Instead I will give you notes from her. What would you like to start?" The waiter asked. I glanced at the menu.

"Grilled shrimp," I quickly said. The waiter wrote it down. I began to space out, so I did not hear what Sheryl ordered. I quickly snapped out of my trance to avoid another hallucination. The waiter left a note on the table and walked away to fulfill the orders. I immediately grabbed the note and read it. It read the following.

_Hello, I trust you are enjoying this time out of your usually dreary day. I, unfortunately, cannot be there in person. I'm sure you understand that it is a security risk that I am not willing to take. I assure you that the staff will accommodate you with whatever you desire to eat. As for why I have brought you here. You were both given instructions that have led up to this point. Throughout your meal, you will receive more instructions. You are to follow them to the letter. You should have three folders. Do not open them until you receive the note telling you to do so._

_-Ms. Yutani_

"What does it say?" Sheryl asked. I recited the note. We both knew that whatever Ms. Yutani was planning was big. Otherwise she would not go through this trouble. We sat in silence until the appetizers arrived. The waiter again left a note. I grabbed it and read the front side.

_Do not read the backside of this note until you have finished your appetizers._

I set the note on the table, and Sheryl immediately picked it up and read it. I followed the orders and ate the entrée I had ordered. Sheryl looked at me, surprised.

"You're actually eating?" she asked.

"I was ordered to," I said, absentmindedly, before realizing what I said. Sheryl chuckled.

"If that is what it takes to get you to eat, I may have to try it on you some time," she said with a smile. Seeing that Sheryl was nearly done with her entrée, I picked up the note.

"You can try," I said. I read the note.

_I hope you are enjoying your meal so far. Do not worry about paying for anything; it's on me. As for why I have brought you here. You possess specific talents that I wish to take advantage of. Think of this as a side objective to your current goal. This is, I regret to say, optional; but it would be wise to take this extra assignment as there is a generous pay and it is for the good cause of the advancement of the Yutani Corporation. More shall be explained in the next note._

_-Ms. Yutani_

I set the note on the table and thought about what it said. I wondered what talents of mine she had yet to utilize. By this time, Sheryl had read the note and was wondering too. I wondered why this 'extra assignment' was optional.

"What do you think she means?" I asked Sheryl. She simply shook her head, still mulling over the note. This was becoming suspicious. Whatever Ms. Yutani had planned was set up so we could not easily decipher it before she told us. As we continued to think on the notes, some waiters walked over and set food and wine on the table. I furrowed my brow.

"We didn't order anything yet," I said, confused, "And I don't drink." The waiter, who was serving us before, looked up from setting a plate on the table.

"Do not worry, Ms. Yutani told us what you were going to order, being it would be your favorite foods," the waiter said. His wording confused me.

"Speak English man," I said.

"We are just following orders," the waiter said, as a brief explanation. I looked over at Sheryl who stared at me with a raised eyebrow. I just shrugged. I then mouthed the words, "Best not to argue with them". As the waiters finished setting everything up and began to leave, they left another note from Ms. Yutani. I took the note. Looking around, I could see the waiters glance at us as if they knew everything already. I began to read the note.

_This is it. This note explains everything. You should have three folders with you. In two of them are your new identities. The third is the special assignment I have for you. There are letters in the two identity folders. In the letters is a note explaining the identities and their purpose. As for your ability I wish to take advantage of. It is your ability to get along with each other, no matter how much you say that you hate each other. This cooperation is the key to success in this assignment. The only request I make is for you to drop the attitude you have towards each other or, at the least, keep it hidden. When you have looked over your new identity thoroughly, please continue onto the back of this note._

_-Ms. Yutani_

Putting the note down on the table, only to have Sheryl immediately grab it and read it, I grabbed one of the three folders that were on the table. Opening it, I noticed a letter paper clipped to the first page with my picture on it. The strange part is that the letters where not there a half hour ago. Again I furrowed my brow. I looked up to see Sheryl grab a folder too. I noticed the end of a letter at the top. This was her new identity. This meant that the folder containing the "assignment" was still sitting on the table. Looking through the folder's contents, everything seemed to be the same. The only difference was that my official name was now Braidy Thomson. I was no longer using an alias.

I looked up from the folder to see her grab the third folder, the "assignment". Sheryl skimmed through the folder's contents. She then flipped back to the first page, the birth certificate and photo. She stared at it, her brow furrowed and her lips pursed. I could tell this meant she thought something felt off about what she was reading. She stared closer at the item she was reading. Her eyes then widened, mouth becoming agape. I thought back to earlier, before the crash, when I had looked at the folder. I let the details skim across my mind. Then it hit me. I knew what made Sheryl surprised. To check my theory, I quickly pulled the letter off of the folder. I could feel something inside of it. I tore the end of the letter open and emptied its contents into the palm of my hand. As I did that, a gold band ring fell out of the letter. My suspicions were confirmed.

"Fuck," I said, almost silently. Sheryl broke her gaze with the folder to stare at me. At this point we were both in shock. I was able to hide it better than her, having learned to deal with it in the field as a soldier and as a PMC.

"Looks like we get to play house," I said, sarcastically. Sheryl did not say anything. I waved my hand in front of her face, yet she did not move and her gaze held strong. I looked at the waiters questioningly. One of them came over.

"I think you broke her," I said to the waiter. He looked over at Sheryl.

"Try to say something to get her to acknowledge you," the waiter said. It wasn't bad advice. He walked off to serve a table.

"Sheryl," I said, receiving no response. I repeated her name with the same result.

"I'll disobey this order if you want," I said. She blinked and closed her mouth.

"No, it's okay. I don't want you to get in trouble for me," she said quietly. She would learn to cope, but it would take time. Time we did not have. I gave her a half smile.

"How are you able to be so calm about this whole thing?" she asked.

"Afghanistan. 2001-2004," I said.

"Oh," she said, looking down at the table.

"Are you going to eat?" I asked half-jokingly. She merely smiled for a second. We can both confidently say that we would never have expected the day to turn out as it did. Officially, Sheryl and I are now married and have a child, thanks to Ms. Yutani. I wonder why this child looks so much like if we were to actually have a child. Perhaps plastic surgery was obtained for the purposes of hiding her identity. I set the ring I was still holding on the table and looked at the note that came in the letter.

_Congratulations!_

_Your new identity has been set. As you can see, we have not changed much. We have reverted to using your actual name, for we feel it is no longer needed for you to hide behind an alias. The only other things that were changed were your marital status and next-of-kin. What you shall be doing is watching over your assignment for an undisclosed amount of time. For more information, read the note in the folder of your assignment._

_-Ms. Yutani_

I set the note on the table and began to eat. As I finished, I grabbed the letter from the folder containing "the assignment". Opening it, I pulled the note out and read it. It described our assignment, Courtney Thomson, age 16 almost 17; along with her habits and hobbies, and various daily and social activities. I sighed and set the note down. I put everything back into the folders and the ring into my pocket. I reached out and touched Sheryl's arm. She looked up at me.

"You need some rest. Let's go," I said to her. She nodded. We stood. I gathered the folders and she grabbed her purse, which I had not noticed her having before. I also realized that I never told her about the car crash. We walked out in silence. We travelled back to Sheryl's house. I stopped in front of Sheryl's house to let her out.

"I guess I will see you tomorrow," I said.

"Yeah," she said before walking inside. I watched her walk to her front door. A lot had happened today. I could tell us both endure a lot of stress today. Mine is mostly from somehow walking away from a car crash that should have killed me. I was surprised at my recovery time. Though, it will probably hit me full effect tomorrow. I then drove off, back to my apartment. As I parked in my usually spot in front of my apartment, something felt off. Perhaps it was the ADT sign in front of the apartment. I approached my door and took out my keys. I put my apartment key into the lock and tried to twist but could not.

"Fuck, they changed the lock on me," I said, throwing the key to the ground. I looked up and in the middle of the door was a sign that read "Vacancy" on it.

"Fuck," I said again. I walked back to my car, got in, and turned it on. I sat there for a second.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck," I said, repeatedly hitting the steering wheel. I did the only logical thing to do, go and stay with Sheryl for the night before finding a new apartment.

**Nobody (following Agent Sheryl Victorson)**

**Location: Sheryl's House**

**Time: 1900 hours**

Sheryl sat on the couch, staring at the black screen of the blank television, void of power for the moment. Sheryl had performed two surgeries and all-day clinic duty today. And the shock from Ms. Yutani's announcement set her over the edge. It was the closest thing to shellshock she had felt in her entire life. As she stared at the blank television, there was a soft knock at the door. Sheryl slowly stood up and walked over to the door. She opened it to see Braidy again. He opened his mouth to say something but quickly closed it. A few moments later, he opened his mouth again.

"Could I stay here tonight," he said, "I lost my apartment." Sheryl nodded.

"Sure," she said quietly. Braidy walked into the house and stopped about ten feet in. Sheryl closed the door behind him.

"I'll sleep on the couch," he said. Sheryl felt the need to release the emotions from today. She took Braidy into a hug and placed her head upon his shoulder. Her tears were absorbed by the suit Braidy was still wearing. At first Braidy was taken aback by Sheryl's action, this was a side of her that he thought did not exist. Slowly, Braidy wrapped his arms around the sobbing Sheryl. He placed the side of his head against hers and closed his eyes. He cried on the inside.

**A/N: I am sorry about the wait on this. This was probably one of the biggest plot points in this story, and I wanted it to be as perfect as my lazy ass is willing to go. If there are any grammatically or spelling errors, please alert me immediately and I will fix it. Please favorite, follow, and leave a review. As a side note, I do accept anonymous reviews.**

**Definition:**

**Shellshock - Psychological disturbance caused by prolonged exposure to active warfare, especially being under bombardment. The civilian equivalent is PTSD, posttraumatic stress disorder.**


End file.
